Opinion: Why is Pope Francis going to South Korea?

By Franklin Rausch, Special to CNN

Updated 0221 GMT (1021 HKT) August 13, 2014

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos:Pope Francis

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, left, reads aloud words engraved on a pen as he meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Friday, December 16. The words "The bullets have written our past, education will write our future" are engraved on the pen, made from a recycled bullet once used in the civil war between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The pen was later used to sign the peace agreements between the parties earlier this year. Santos, who was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the region's longest-running conflict, presented Pope Francis with the pen.

Hide Caption

1 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis accepts a letter from a child he visited at a pediatric hospital in Rome on Thursday, December 15.

Hide Caption

2 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis poses with members of the International Catholic Rural Association at the Vatican on Saturday, December 10.

Hide Caption

3 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis salutes the faithful upon his arrival in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Special Jubilee Papal Audience on Saturday, October 22.

Hide Caption

4 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis looks on with joy as he releases a dove as a symbol of peace during a meeting with the Assyrian Chaldean community at the Catholic Chaldean Church of St. Simon Bar Sabbae in Tbilisi, Georgia, on September 30.

Hide Caption

5 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis passes the main entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former concentration camp in Poland, on Friday, July 29. The Pope was there to pay tribute to those who died in the Holocaust.

Hide Caption

6 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis looks on as Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II celebrates the Divine Liturgy at the Apostolic Cathedral in Etchmiadzin, outside Yerevan, Armenia, on June 26.

Hide Caption

7 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis arrives to celebrate an extraordinary Jubilee Audience as part of ongoing celebrations of the Holy Year of Mercy in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on May 14.

Hide Caption

8 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis hugs a child at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday, April 16. Pope Francis received an emotional welcome on the island during a visit showing solidarity with migrants fleeing war and poverty.

Hide Caption

9 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis confesses in St. Peter's Basilica during the Vatican's Penitential Celebration on Friday, March 4.

Hide Caption

10 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis tries on a traditional sombrero he received as a gift from a Mexican journalist on Friday, February 12, 2016, aboard a flight from Rome to Havana, Cuba. The voyage kicked off his weeklong trip to Mexico. With his penchant for crowd-pleasing and spontaneous acts of compassion, Pope Francis has earned high praise from fellow Catholics and others since he succeeded Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013.

Hide Caption

11 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis arrives for his visit with prisoners in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on Friday, July 10, 2015. The Pope emphasized the plight of the poor during his eight-day tour of South America, which also included stops in Ecuador and Paraguay.

Hide Caption

12 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Bolivian President Evo Morales presents the Pope with a gift of a crucifix carved into a wooden hammer and sickle -- the Communist symbol uniting laborers and peasants -- in La Paz, Bolivia, on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

Hide Caption

13 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis greets a crowd of Italian Catholic boy scouts and girl guides at St. Peter's Square on Saturday, June 13, 2015.

Hide Caption

14 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, June 10, 2015. The Pope gave Putin a medallion depicting the angel of peace, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. The Vatican called it "an invitation to build a world of solidarity and peace founded on justice." Lombardi said the pontiff and President talked for 50 minutes about the crisis in Ukraine and violence in Iraq and Syria.

Hide Caption

15 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis meets with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Vatican on Sunday, May 10, 2015. Castro thanked the Pope for his role in brokering the rapprochement between Havana and Washington.

Hide Caption

16 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

The Pope prays face down on the floor of St. Peter's Basilica during Good Friday celebrations at the Vatican on Friday, April 3, 2015.

Hide Caption

17 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis touches a child's face as he arrives for a meeting at the Vatican on Friday, March 6, 2015.

The Pope attends Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City in December 2014.

Hide Caption

20 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I address the faithful in Istanbul on Sunday, November 30, 2014.

Hide Caption

21 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis speaks during the feast-day Mass while on a one-day trip to Italy's Calabria region in June 2014. The Pope spoke out against the Mafia's "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good," and declared that "Mafiosi are excommunicated, not in communion with God."

Hide Caption

22 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis prays next to a rabbi at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City in May 2014. The Pope went on a three-day trip to the Holy Land, and he was accompanied by Jewish and Muslim leaders from his home country of Argentina.

Hide Caption

23 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

The Pope meets the faithful as he visits the Roman Parish of San Gregorio Magno in April 2014.

Hide Caption

24 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, have an audience with the Pope during their one-day visit to Rome in April 2014.

Hide Caption

25 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Francis speaks with US President Barack Obama at the Vatican in March 2014.

Hide Caption

26 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

The Pope blesses the altar at Rome's Basilica of Santa Sabina as he celebrates Mass on Ash Wednesday in March 2014.

Hide Caption

27 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Daniele De Sanctis, a 19-month-old dressed as the pope, is handed to Francis as the pontiff is driven through the crowd in St. Peter's Square in February 2014.

Hide Caption

28 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Wind blows the papal skullcap off Pope Francis' head in February 2014.

Hide Caption

29 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

A lamb is placed around Francis' neck in January 2014 as he visits a living nativity scene staged at a church on the outskirts of Rome.

Hide Caption

30 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis meets with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Vatican in December 2013. Benedict surprised the world by resigning "because of advanced age." It was the first time a pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years.

Hide Caption

31 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis marked his 77th birthday in December 2013 by hosting homeless men at a Mass and a meal at the Vatican. One of the men brought his dog.

Hide Caption

32 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis embraced Vinicio Riva, a disfigured man who suffers from a non-infectious genetic disease, during a public audience at the Vatican in November 2013. Riva then buried his head in the Pope's chest.

Hide Caption

33 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Pope Francis jokes in November 2013 with members of the Rainbow Association Marco Iagulli Onlus, which uses clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages.

Hide Caption

34 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

A young boy hugs Francis as he delivers a speech in St. Peter's Square in October 2013. The boy, part of a group of children sitting around the stage, played around the Pope as the Pope continued his speech and occasionally patted the boy's head.

Hide Caption

35 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Francis has eschewed fancy cars. Here, Father Don Renzo Zocca, second from right, offers his white Renault 4L to the Pope during a meeting at the Vatican in September 2013.

Hide Caption

36 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Francis has his picture taken inside St. Peter's Basilica with youths who came to Rome for a pilgrimage in August 2013.

Hide Caption

37 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

During an impromptu news conference in July 2013, while on a plane from Brazil to Rome, the Pope said about gay priests, "Who am I to judge?" Many saw the move as the opening of a more tolerant era in the Catholic Church.

Hide Caption

38 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Crowds swarm the Pope as he makes his way through World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013. According to the Vatican, 1 million people turned out to see the Pope.

Hide Caption

39 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Francis frees a dove in May 2013 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Hide Caption

40 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Francis embraces a young boy with cerebral palsy in March 2013 -- a gesture that many took as a heartwarming token of the Pope's self-stated desire to "be close to the people."

Hide Caption

41 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

The Pope washes the feet of juvenile offenders, including Muslim women, as part of Holy Thursday rituals in March 2013. The act commemorates Jesus' washing of the Apostles' feet during the Last Supper.

Hide Caption

42 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Francis stands at the reception desk of the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI residence on March 14, 2013, where he paid the bill for his stay during the conclave that would elect him leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Hide Caption

43 of 44

Photos:Pope Francis

Francis, formerly known as Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected the Roman Catholic Church's 266th Pope in March 2013. The first pontiff from Latin America was also the first to take the name Francis.

Hide Caption

44 of 44

Story highlights

Pope is to celebrate sixth Asian Youth Day and beatify 124 martyrs of Korea

Asia that has the greatest potential for the growth of Catholicism

Korean Catholicism has history of surviving persecution

The simple answer to the question why Pope Francis is headed to South Korea, in the first papal trip to Asia in 25 years, is straightforward. The pope is going to celebrate the sixth Asian Youth Day and beatify 124 martyrs of Korea.

But the more complex answer has to take into consideration the Korean Catholic Church's unique history and the pope's theological agenda. These can give us a deeper understanding of why he is making this trip.

While South Korea may not be viewed as an overtly Catholic nation (compared to the Philippines, the most Christian nation in Asia), at least 10% of South Korea's population belong to the Church, according to its statistics.

Franklin Rausch is an an assistant professor at Lander University and researched Catholicism in South Korea.

The Catholic Church in Korea enjoys a high level of respect from non-Catholics, maintains good relations with other religious communities, and has a history of positive social engagement for the common good. Pope Francis's visit will recognize these accomplishments, a move that will not only please Koreans, but hold up their church as a model of evangelization.

Evangelizing in Asia

Since it is Asia that has the greatest potential for the growth of Catholicism, it makes sense to highlight an Asian success story and to recognize the Asian youth who will be called on to continue that growth.

JUST WATCHED

Victim to Pope: Take action today

MUST WATCH

JUST WATCHED

Pope Francis excommunicates mobsters

MUST WATCH

Pope Francis excommunicates mobsters01:34

Evangelization is in fact a key concern for Pope Francis. His apostolic exhortation,Evangelii Gaudium, focused on this topic and called for the transformation of the Catholic Church to focus on "the evangelization of today's world rather than for her self-preservation."

The pope's concept of evangelization does not focus simply on baptizing new Catholics, but, as seen in the chapter from that exhortation entitled "The Social Dimension of Evangelization," also includes a call for the inclusion of the "homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, [and] the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned." Moreover, this pope, while recognizing the importance of ordained clergy, decried "clericalism" before the publication of this exhortation, sees the laity as having an active role in evangelization.

The pope's concerns as expressed in Evengelii Gaudium therefore resonate with the historical accomplishments of the Korean Catholic Church in that it has grown into a relatively large and healthy Catholic community with much of the work of evangelization being conducted by the laity.

It is no accident that during his trip the pope will visit Kkottongnae (Flower Village), a Catholic institution devoted to caring for such marginalized groups as the elderly and the homeless, where he will meet with leaders of the Apostolate of the Laity.

Origins of Korean Catholic Church

The Korean Catholic Church began with the baptism of a Korean scholar named Yi Seung-hun in Beijing in 1784, who had developed an interest in Catholicism after reading Chinese books on the religion. After his baptism, Yi returned to Korea and began baptizing others, so that there were already 4,000 Catholics there before a missionary -- a Chinese priest named Father James Zhou Wen-mo, himself one of the martyrs to be beatified -- arrived in 1794.

The Korean state could not tolerate the existence of a foreign religion whose members recognized a deity outside government control and persecuted the new church. Catholics were given the choice of giving up their religion or being sentenced to death, with several thousands choosing the latter and becoming martyrs.

Despite these persecutions, the church managed to survive and rebuild itself multiple times. While foreign missionaries played an important role, much of the work of maintaining the community and spreading the faith was carried out by the laity.

The coming of religious tolerance in the late 19th century led to an increase in the number of Catholics, but it was not until the 1960s that the Catholic Church in Korea began to grow quickly. While that growth has slowed down in recent years, the church is quite healthy, with its approximately five million members, according to the church.

At the same time, it must be stressed that the Korean Catholic Church faces challenges. Growth has declined, and many newly baptized Catholics leave the faith or become lukewarm. Likewise, Korean society has many of the difficulties post-industrial societies in the West face, such as the "unbridled consumerism" the pope decried in his apostolic exhortation. It is here that one can see the importance of the martyrs who the pope will beatify. In their stories, one sees Catholics giving up wealth, sex, and even life itself out of their love for others and for God.

The pope will no doubt highlight how their devotion to the faith led to the growth and development of the Catholic Community in Korea, allowing him to echo the themes found in his exhortation. The fact that he will beatify these martyrs in Korea the day after Koreans celebrate their independence from Japan, will not be missed by Koreans.

The pope likely hopes that this recognition, and the teaching opportunity it provides, will renew evangelization in Korea, and through it, the world.